You Are Not Spare Parts

Whenever he closed his eyes, he felt Zhou's heartbeat for a moment. The trade had left an incompletely severed thread between them. Manager Luo Jin entered and posted the playoff roster. Lin's name stood twenty-fourth. For three years, he had pretended not to care before roster announcements, then packed alone. Today nobody applauded. They simply made room as though he naturally belonged in front of that sheet. The casual certainty moved him more than cheers. “Celebrate later,” Luo said, tapping the board. “The wild-card game against the North City Bears is in two days. Liang Chuan's ankle is out, so Lin is a starting candidate. One hit doesn't buy a position. Live batting practice today. Best man starts.”